Basic Idea - Critique

from Offworld Forums

Motivation:

So I have been following this title and finally decided to buy it. It looked entirely like my kind of game, and I would like to see over 100 hours in it. But truth is I got bored after a mere 13 hour something. I know it is late in development but I hope I can still make a fair contribution.

2 games I would like to draw attention to is "Patrician III" and "Railroads Tycoon 3" (RT3). As I quickly found out OTC draws some aspects in from "Sid meier's Railroads!" (SMR!) (which is somewhat a simplified RT3) and I really liked that game too because it was continuously intriguing to build up a business. Lastly I need to mention that I am obsessed with realism, and I rarely see a game where realism did not would not make it more interesting.

Basics

OTC has the "global" dynamic market which really drew me in. Constant price fluctuations and taking advantage of a live market (I think I have only seen this in the shortlived Civilization facebook game). An issue in OTC is that if I need a resource I simply just build on one tile with this resource. It seems there is only a small economic dispatch to do this, you use a claim (more on this) and it does not REALLY (I know. Fuel) matter if it's 50km away. But I need a resource, I build it, done. 

But I want to make big decisions, I want to set up this frame of the business and see it run. This is where Patrician and RT3 thrive. In RT3 you look for the rare great opportunity and when you finally have the whole supply chain up it is very satisfying. In OTC maybe the production facilities should be larger in area and cost more, thus a great pool of resources outmatch a small quickly. In Patrician production facilities can be your absolute downfall because they have mentionable running cost. So more careful planning is needed.

Another thing I would like to see is more infrastructure set-up. Like these small planes flying around, why can't I get to buy those myself and optimize that part? Honestly in magnetic storms, when they get destroyed, I really don't think about it. They just get build again. Somehow. For infrastructure there is also the power (yes I'm a power engineer) when I place a power structure in the middle of f***** nowhere and it is just hooked up - no matter if it is on a mountain in the other side of the map?! I call for realism once again.

Stock Market

The stock marked borrows from SMR! a lot and I never really liked it. The positive thing about it is that you can always "win" over an opponent. But in endgame you can be in a situation where you cannot play the actual game because you need ALL the money to buy this guy out before he buys you out. This situation brings very bad gameplay. Also it is not realistic; you can never force-buy a company. I look to RT3 which has a slightly more complex financial system, but it is rewarding. In RT3 it is very expensive to own all your stock, so opponents will always be able to buy from the free stock pool. Opponents will though more rarely be directly eliminated, but there is more focus on your actual business. 

Claims 

Ehh this is Mars right? It is mostly uninhabited and I have to limit myself to what, the International Mars Comity of Limited Growth? I see how a player should be limited. But limit him in costs of developing, especially on a mountain in the other side of the map.

Settlement (needs your help)

Okay so there is a settlement, I can see how that would make some sense. But WHAT is their purpose in life? Just eat, breathe and Pleasure domes or what? There should be more purpose with the settlement, for example electronics development would make sense to have close to scientists and engineers. You might say that your HQ has all the workers it needs (especially robotics), but even more WHAT is the purpose of the settlement. Give it a purpose other than just a demand (which I like though). 

Offworld

I really like the quite heavy economic offset in building this structure, so hey-ya for that! So I might be a noob but I have no indication of what goes on in this so called offworld. What controls its prices? And for realism - are we really going to Mars to produce fuel and send fuel with using fuel to space? I don't like that in this high-tech world the most expensive things to send out is often fuel, oxygen or food. 

Special Building

Per se I like the patent-developing-building (which also takes a bit from SMR!) interesting patents for new gameplay while playing! BUT I absolutely hate the idea of the pleasure dome since its just "more money"-kind-of-stathunt. Also the tech-office or whatever; it is just f**** percentages better. Delete it and find something more interesting. The price satellite dish; meh I guess it is kind of fun? But I would rather like to focus on business.

Summary

I would like to see more infrasructure, not micromanagement, but setup of what you need to make things run around. There is simply too much opportunity at too little economic cost. It is not entirely satisfying. I urge you to look at stock markets in RT3 because the money race for buyout is so annoying. Special buildings need an overhaul. Use the settlement for more, include infrastructure with that.

bla bla bla. I can't remember more things right now! You have a great basis for a game, now make it really something to remember and play forever.

6,648 views 3 replies
Reply #1 from Offworld Forums Top

I am also a relative newcomer to the game. You can look at the first part of my 'Fundamental Critiques' post and some of the player responses to get an idea of my initial impressions of the game. It probably took me 5 to 10 hours just to get up to speed with things that many veterans were commenting on in that post. I also felt this game lacked economic depth, but I have come to appreciate how complex it can be. It may not be 100% realistic, but there are always unique moments arising as a result of market dynamics that keep things fresh. As one of the long-time players said to me, "stick with it". This is a game that grows on you. I can't say that I ever felt bored, so maybe your situation doesn't resemble mine completely. What difficulty were you playing on? I'm not ashamed to admit that it took me until just today (and many tries) to win 1v1 against a 'Manager' AI in a skirmish match at normal speed. The game can be a cakewalk on Applicant or Intern and I can see how someone might get bored.

Play the 'Corporations are People' tutorial to get a feel for the backstory of the game and how the colony system is explained. The campaign will also help with this and I have found it quite fun.

 

 

 

Reply #2 from Offworld Forums Top

I would agree to stick with it and play PvP. Lobby games at first as if you run into an experienced player they may manipulate the markets in such a way that you stall out entirely in 1v1, it can be brutal.

 

If you still feel bored and need to micromanage truck building and the laying of power cables to keep yourself busy in a 4/6/8 player game on top of what commodity is currently profitable, what should be profitable next based on what other people are producing and consuming, who is threatening enough to black market, when you should expand, if you can make money on the commodity market well then I am increadibly impressed as I struggle to keep a lid on all that after 300 hours. It's a game you can never play perfectly which creates some bizaar situations depending on a lot of variables. Worth another 13 hrs imo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Reply #3 from Offworld Forums Top

Wicked hits on something that I've chewed on for quite a while.  Power generation proximity to base.  Micro managing laying cable?  No.  But a loss in transmission over significant distance?  YES.  An easy change or adjustment to give a player an additional consideration.

All power generation baselines remain the same. (Medium map) placement say 0-8 tiles from base- 0% production loss, 8-20 tiles 10% loss, 20+ tiles 15% loss.  

This wont affect many strategies or play styles, but it will make a player consider found location with wind, solar, geo proximity in mind.  Its an effective but not overly punishing way to keep power strategies in check.